I Heart Handmade: Milk and Crown

I Heart Handmade is a series featuring amazing people and their brilliant handmade treasures. To read more, click here! Today I am featuring Kristyn of Milk and Crown! Take it away Kristyn!

1. When did you first start making jewlery? When did you start selling your goods on Etsy?

I've always loved design and am very creative by nature. But I didn't start making jewelry until May of this year. I opened my Etsy shop a mere month later. It was a whirlwind but I've loved the journey it's taken me on thus far. 

2. Tell me a little bit about the creating process, where does your inspiration come from?
My first spark of inspiration was the image of a milkcrown--basically the shape milk takes when it splashes. It was so fleeting and beautiful, and I sketched out the Caron necklace from that image. Usually I sketch out a lot different designs and then spend some time playing around with beads, chain and other jewelry materials, trying to make them come to life. I love being able to make something tangible with my hands from an idea in my mind. 

3. Where do you come up with the adorable names for your pieces?
As a writer, I have always loved naming things. I believe in the power of words, in the sense that they evoke feeling and nostalgia within a person. I spend a lot of time researching the meaning of names. Most of them are Hebrew, the rest a mix of Spanish, Irish and French. Connecting a piece to a name gives it greater identity and purpose, and helps customers feel a connection to it as well.

4. Which of your pieces is your fave?
The Caron (pronounced 'khar-in') will always hold a special place in my heart because it inspired my whole collection and the name of my shop. But I'm very partial to the Stella. It's gorgeous and surprisingly so versatile.

5. How has owning an Etsy shop changed your creative process? Has it made it better or worse?
I think it definitely makes me more business conscious, which can sometimes put pressure on me. I feel more of an urgency to keep producing, but I try to stay grounded and remember that my success will come only if my work reflects in inspiration. On the other hand, it's been great as well because it pushes me to stay focused and not lose interest in creating.

6. What has been the hardest part of getting to where you are in your Etsy shop?
It's been hard getting the word out about my shop. The jewelry market is very saturated, but I really want women to see that my jewelry has something different. I hope my collection conveys a sense of value, style and beauty. 

7. What is your favourite thing about handmade goods? 
I just love the heart involved with handmade goods. Every piece I make has a story. I think what's so beautiful is that when you create something with your hands, you are essentially putting a bit of yourself into it. My passion, diligence and love shine through in the quality, careful packaging and deliberate personalization of every piece.

Check out her Etsy shop here: www.etsy.com/shop/milkandcrown

And while you're at it, here's her blog!: www.milkandcrown.com/

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               If you're interested in being featured in a I Heart Handmade feature, feel free to contact me. To see other amazing handmade artists, check out the rest of my series here!

I Heart Handmade: Roaring Softly

I Heart Handmade is a series featuring amazing people and their brilliant handmade treasures. To read more, click here! Today I am featuring Tyler of Roaring Softly! Take it away Tyler!

1. When did you first start drawing subtle pop culture art? When did you start selling your goods on Etsy?
I opened up shop at the very end of June 2012, but I didn't turn to pop culture until this past February. One day, I was feeling glum, so I sat down at my desk, put on my carefully-curated showtunes/Mumford & Sons Pandora station, and just drew and drew until I didn't feel so crummy anymore. I ended up making my Parks and Recreation ice cream illustration that day, and when I saw the positive response I got on tumblr, I got inspired to keep making that type of art.

2. Tell me a little bit about the creating process. Where does your inspiration come from?My creative process usually starts with me going about my day and then getting smacked in the head with an idea. Then, I'll run (sometimes literally) to my pencils and paper and draw it before I have time to forget it. I get inspiration from my favorite things, namely: television shows, food, cats, and sappy self-help books. 

3. I love all of the different references to some of my favorite TV shows! Have you watched Orange is the New Black yet? Because I could see you doing something amazing out of all the awesome one liners!
I love Orange Is the New Black! I've only done one OITNB piece so far, called Cutie Pies of Litchfield Prison, and I was thrilled to learn that Dascha Polanco (who plays Daya on the show) posted it on her Instagram. She's one of my favorite characters!

4. I love your custom illustrations! How long does it typically take you to do a custom piece?Thank you! Each custom illustration takes about a week to complete, depending on the complexity of the client's idea. Recently, I've worked on a superhero wedding portrait, a business card design with a cat wearing sunglasses, and several portraits of people's boyfriends hanging out with Ron Swanson. The weirder the idea, the more I love it.

5. Which of your pieces is your fave?I had a lot of fun working on my "Seth Cohen gave me unrealistic expectations about boys" illustration, mostly because I got to look at lots of photos of Adam Brody for reference.

6. How has owning an Etsy shop changed your creative process? Has it made it better or worse?Having an Etsy shop and being active on tumblr have pushed me to be more way prolific with my art than I have ever been before. I draw nearly every day now. It's neat-o to be able to look back and remember how I was feeling when I drew a particular illustration.

7. What has been the hardest part of getting to where you are in your Etsy shop?Every so often I have a client who is particularly difficult to please. I'm a really sensitive person, so it can be hard to deal with criticism, but I try to treat every situation like that as a learning opportunity and a chance to improve my customer service.

8. What is your favorite thing about handmade goods?
There's something magical about knowing someone put a lot of heart into their product. Even the imperfections tell a story.

Tyler has been kind enough to offer all Seductive Mania readers %15 off orders of $20 or more until October 31st with the code: SEDUCTIVEMANIA

Check out her Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/roaringsoftly

And while you're at it, here's her blog!: http://www.roaring-softly.tumblr.com/

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I Heart Handmade: Sneddon Studios

I Heart Handmade is a series featuring amazing people and their brilliant handmade treasures. To read more, click here! Today I am featuring Rikki of Sneddon Studios! Take it away Rikki!

The gorgeous brains behind Sneddon Studios!

1. When did you first start creating art? When did you start selling your art on Etsy?
I have been crafting and making since I was really young...I once constructed an entire world for my polly pockets made out of paper and cardboard food boxes. Seriously though, I began painting about three years ago. After about 6 months of painting I decided to open my shop, sneddon studios, on etsy.

2. Tell me a little bit about the creating process, where does your inspiration come from?
Inspiration is probably the closest thing to magic that I know of; It should be considered it's own element. I can be inspired by a beautiful sunset across rolling country hills because of the colors it creates, how temporary they are. The wrinkles in someones face, or the angle of their body. The lyrics of a song can inspire me the texture of chipped paint or sometimes a dirty concrete floor; Like I said, magic.

3. A lot of your pieces reflect very deep emotions such as happiness or anger, do you paint what mood you're feeling?
Mood has a lot to do with art in general. I often will be in a certain mood when I form the idea for a painting; But once I am in the act of painting it will usually force me to the mood of the painting. If I am working on a happier painting I have to cheer up or the painting will reflect something I don't want it to, and vice versa; If the painting has a melancholy to it, I kind of need to feel that too. I think many of my pieces are born out of a sort of perfect storm if you will, the type of music I am listening to, the idea of the painting, my mood, my thoughts etc. I strive to never paint anything without having some kind of emotion about it, because then the painting will be dead and it will show; It would be a painting about nothing even though there is a picture there. I feel that is why there is such emotion that comes across in my art, because those feelings are put there when I am creating. 

4. Which of your pieces is your fave?
Of course this question! It's always hard, people make fun but they are like children sort of, it's a piece of me, to pick a favorite! I guess I judge it by which ones I miss the most once they sell. Vientiane is one I really miss and also The Bright Side; and I know I will severely miss Promise Elena when she sells. I always have the paintings that I am waiting to sell hanging in the studio and around the living room, I get empty nest syndrome when the walls start getting bare. 

5. How has owning an Etsy shop changed your creative process? Has it made it better or worse?
Having my shop on Etsy definitely adds a layer of excitement to the process. I feel like I have an outlet to show my new work right away, even if I don't have an event or exhibition scheduled. I also like seeing the favorites and treasury lists people make featuring my art. I would say it has helped the process just for the fact that it is immediate, pieces don't have to be around waiting for a show.

6. What has been the hardest part of getting to where you are in your Etsy shop?
I guess just not knowing what kinds of advertising and sales etc. are going to work best. It gets discouraging when I put a lot of effort into a sale or competition and then don't always see results. That and keeping a large inventory. I can print on demand so I don't carry an inventory of prints at home, but if something isn't selling in the shop for a long period of time; I have to edit it out, which is hard. Then I have to try and replace it in the shop with something that will do better.

7. What is your favourite thing about handmade goods? 
I love anything that has individuality and uniqueness. Kind of like showing up to a party and two other people are wearing the same dress as you. Especially if you are getting an original painting...that's the only painting like that in the world. It wasn't shipped to five hundred thousand department stores, it wasn't made by a machine. Someone took time and care making it. I feel this way about homemade soap even! It's just different knowing there was actual personal effort put into it, I think you use things more carefully when you realize that and appreciate it; whether its art, jewelry, furniture...soap. It feels less throw away.

Check out Rikki's Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SneddonStudios

And her Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/sneddonstudios

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I Heart Handmade: The Carbon Crusader

I'm starting a new series called "I Heart Handmade" featuring products and people I love from Etsy. Today I am featuring The Carbon Crusader.

The Carbon Crusader began from a lifelong enthusiasm, passion, and love of words and the thoughts they express. Growing up, Yvette didn't often say what she was thinking, preferring to put most ideas to paper and avoid a confrontation, filling many notebooks with observations, retorts, and imagined conversations, always with a trusted #2 pencil. Frustrated with trying to find inspiring pencils that were also manufactured in the USA, Yvette decided to turn her passion into a career.

And that's when The Carbon Crusader was born. 

With The Carbon Crusader, Yvette became obsessed with giving her customers three things: quality, freedom, and humor. The majority of custom/engraved pencils available on the market are made in China, and they are processed by companies that do not allow totally free speech (swears). She wanted her customers to have a place to laugh, a place where they could say whatever they want on products they commission, and have quality USA made goods available in a variety of colors. And, a place where left handed people could get pencils engraved that they could read, too. (She's a lefty.)

All of this pencil creating naturally lead to a lot of writing, and she wanted to try sharing her thoughts on a button. Not sure her ideas would find an audience, she made sure her quality, at least, would be clean, professional, and consistent. To her surprise, people found the same stuff she finds amusing funny, the same frustrations frustrating, etc, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. She knows she's doing something right when her mom says "you should put that on a pencil!" or her husband uses her own material against her in a teasing match. 

The Carbon Crusader is run out of her home in Houston, overlooking downtown.

Check out her Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/thecarboncrusader

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I Heart Handmade: Lisa Barbero

I'm starting a new series called "I Heart Handmade" featuring products and people I love from Etsy. Today I am featuring Lisa Barbero, maker of many beautiful illustrations. Take it away Lisa!

1. When did you first start making digital prints? When did you start selling your goods on Etsy?

Back in the spring of 2010 I quit an office job to see what I could do with my passion for art. Art was what I had always wanted to do and I even went to school for it once upon a time. But I suppose I never thought it was possible let alone realistic to try to live off of. Even when I hadn't needed extra income in my life, it seemed I just plain didn't have the belief in myself needed to make a leap into creating full time. The whole story in short form sort of goes like this...

I got married right out of high school and put art school on hold to move to Germany and be a military spouse. By the age of 21 I had my first child and was officially a stay-at-home parent. Years went by, we moved back to the States, and I continued to raise my daughter taking part-time jobs throughout. Eventually I did go back to school though not for very long. I'll spare you the dramatic details, but I was pretty miserable in that situation and the marriage finally ended at the close of 2008. 

While I continued to paint and create during that time, I often found I had no inspiration or motivation. I had allowed the situations and people that surrounded me to make me doubt myself. I legitimately believed I was not good enough for far too long. I know now that these are thoughts and beliefs most of us carry around from time to time and that we can make a choice to change that way of thinking without becoming victims. And sometimes a special someone enters the picture that makes changing those beliefs a whole lot easier.

In 2009 I met the man who is now my husband. He helped me to realize that I am damn good enough 

and I always was. It's truly amazing what can happen when someone loves you deeply and unconditionally just the way you are and teaches you to love yourself in the same way. Your eyes open along with your heart. Now, I'm not proposing all of life's issues can be fixed by a "special someone" because ultimately we need to "fix" ourselves. But for me that's how it happened and how I learned to finally be my own biggest fan. 

So in 2010 I quit that awful office job and started making art every day in my home studio. Within a month, I found out I was pregnant with my son. I launched my Etsy store in August after coming up with some original typographic prints that I thought had potential (Lemons, A Beautiful Thing, the Make Love series). I was creating every day while planning a wedding and growing a healthy baby boy. I had my first sales pretty soon after opening because my Lemons print was featuring in an Etsy Finds/Etsy Blog post. I've been working hard every since and have seen huge increases in success over the past three years. It's a dream come true, honestly. And I have so much to be grateful for. 

2. Tell me a little bit about the creating process, where does your inspiration come from?

These days I find inspiration to be in very plentiful supply. It's everywhere; nature, color combinations, lines, children's doodles, the sweet cream floating in my morning coffee, the M mark on my cat's forehead. It's literally always under my nose and I have a gazillion ideas on a weekly basis. Finding the time to make them into reality is another story altogether. I think inspiration is all about how you look at the world. If our vision is one of possibilities as opposed to fixed concepts, inspiration is never in short supply. 

3. A lot of your prints are inspired by different places around the world, are there a lot of stamps in your passport?

 As I mentioned, I lived in Germany for three years and I've traveled a bit through Europe to places like Austria and England. I've lived in a bunch of states along the East Coast and traveled often to Canada since we live on the border here in Rochester. 

4. I see that you use "tree-free paper," that's something totally new to me! Could you give me a bit of a rundown?

 The paper I use is made of 100% cotton rag which means it's much like fabric. No actual wood pulp is used in the creation of the paper so it's completely tree-free and renewable not to mention super luxurious to the touch. 

5. I love that you donate money to charity! What inspired this? What charity are you currently donating to?

I've always felt it was necessary to help those less fortunate and to support causes that I feel benefit society. I'm very opinionated and passionate about these topics and feel that, though I'm not rolling in the dough, someone out there has a whole lot less than I do. For me, it's also a way to show gratitude for what I have. 

I'm currently working with Chelsea Roff's Yoga for Eating Disorders on a fundraising campaign project as well as donating to one of my regular causes at the end of the month. See Lisa's controbutions here.

6. Which of your pieces is your fave?

The answer to this changes on a regular basis. I adore what I call my "Untitled Pocket Series" and consistently add pieces to it whenever I have the time. They make me giddy happy just looking at them; such tender, fragile little creatures who support each other with phrases like "I will let you be yourself" and "I will always tell you the truth". 

I'm also fond of my fine art photo series "Throwback Romance and Other Sentiments" and all of my original patterns.

7. How has owning an Etsy shop changed your creative process? Has it made it better or worse?

Having my shop has given me a lot more drive to create. I think there's a more detailed answer in there but I'm having a hard time articulating it properly. One thing I've learned from making a living from creating is that art that comes from within (as opposed to being created by some outside standard) is better and sells better. So making art for yourself is sort of the #1 principle. If it comes from your soul and you love it, others will too. Or they won't and you'll still be genuine. ;) 

8. What has been the hardest part of getting to where you are in your Etsy shop?

Struggling with self-doubt seems to always be the hardest part of any creative venture. And since it's more or less me here behind the scenes, I've got no one else to blame for failures or shortcomings. That's a lot to take on. But at the same time failure can often be a good thing with a huge potential to learn important lessons. I think success is virtually impossible without some kind of failure to act as a teacher. 

9. What is your favourite thing about handmade goods?
My favorite part of handmade is seeing the unmistakable imperfections of the human hand; a crooked line, a disproportionate figure... anything that is obviously made by a human soul. That can't be replaced. It's priceless.

Lisa has been kind enough to offer all Seductive Mania readers 

20% off all orders with the code: GOOD2013

Check out her website here: www.lisabarbero.com/

And check out her Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lisabarbero

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I Heart Handmade: Sketch.inc

I'm starting a new series called "I Heart Handmade" featuring products and people I love from Etsy. Today I am featuring Sketch.inc, maker of many beautiful creations. Take it away Becky!

^^ This is Becky, my name twin, the brains behind Sketch.inc ^^

1. In your about me, you mention always sketching and creating, when did you start turning those ideas into sellable prints/brooches/plates/other goods?

Sketch.inc started back in 2011 when I began to sell a few paintings and prints. Discovering a set of blank Nesting Dolls in a Craft shop one summer they seemed destined for a place in my chaotic home studio and the perfect canvas for my favourite character designs. Between the Dolls and Brooches (originally intended for a friends Wedding Party) my sales finally allowed me to give up the day job and concentrate on the business full time 16 months ago.

2. You work in so many different mediums! Which one is your favourite, and why?

I love to learn and test new techniques, you never know what surprises and ideas you may stumble upon. Sketching and doodling ideas is still my first step in any design process and my favourite medium. I enjoy the flexibility of using a sketchbook, constantly to hand in a pocket, I can record an idea or image quickly and freely wherever I am and refer back to it later.

3. What inspires you to create?

My inspiration comes from everyday life! Places, events or memories. I wouldn't say that any one thing inspires me. Growing up my Mother would paint water colours in our back garden and I would attempt to copy her. My Father made model railways and I would help to paint the scenery and stage the tiny figures. So I guess both my parents inspired and nurtured my artistic streak. I love classic Japanese illustration and Nordic Design, which in itself sounds like a strange combination but the simple aesthetics of both are very inspiring to me.

4. Which of your products is your fave?

This is such a hard question! Going back to my love for drawing I would have to choose the two prints from the original Ebony sketches. These sketches were the catalysts to designing the Weather Girl Dolls, plate and soon to be a jumpin jack wooden figure.

5. How has owning an Etsy shop changed your creative process?

My Etsy Shop has given me a fantastic arena to play with ideas and trial new products which in itself has varied my day to day process. With my third Etsy Christmas on the horizon I am planning well in advance for a change. Last year I was so overwhelmed with orders I slept in my studio and ate take-out for 2 months. So this year I am planning ahead. I now close my shop for 1 week every other month from January to September to work on wholesale orders, and creating stock ready for Christmas. Working alone gives you fantastic freedom but it can also be very draining at exceptionally busy times and getting the balance right is a steep learning curve.

6. What has been the hardest part of getting to where you are in your Etsy shop?

It has taken years to get where I am today and I feel fairly well-established as an Etsy seller but that was not always the case. It became easier when I gave up the day job and could focus on Sketch.inc full time but learning my way around SEO is something which has taken a lot of getting used to, experimenting with tags, descriptions, links to Pinterest boards, blog posts etc. Creating a Etsy business takes time and a lot of patience.

7. What is your favourite thing about handmade goods? 

I particularly love the fact that handmade goods are not mass produced. Handmade goods have been created directly from the artisan’s design (not watered down and cheaply reproduced by a mass retailer), and above all show case the artistic talents of their creator and their passion for their own work.

Check out more of her awesome work!:

Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SketchInc

Blog: sketch-inc.blogspot.co.uk/

Instagran: @sketchinc

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